


the in-between

by darlingargents



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Bonding, Canon Compliant, Gen, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-23 19:55:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17689856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlingargents/pseuds/darlingargents
Summary: The battle ends like any other battle they’ve won.





	the in-between

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LittleRaven](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleRaven/gifts).



The battle ends like any other battle they’ve won. The Seppie commander is captured; every battle droid is destroyed; the Seppie ship is taken by Republic forces. They won; it’s time for celebrations, a bit of time to recover, and onto the next planet.

The 501st lost nearly fifty men. The other Jedi that was stationed with them — an older Twi’lek man, Ahsoka never got his name — lost a hundred of his troops, and died too. They won, after two relentless weeks and at a heavy cost, and they’re supposed to celebrate and move on, and Ahsoka—

She can’t. She doesn’t want to, rather. She can; she will. It’s what she has to do, so she will do it, but it’s killing her inside as the Resolute prepares for hyperspace. Three days to Coruscant; two rest days; another deployment.

The announcement comes that they’re entering hyperspace. Alone in her cabin, with no windows — and barely room to turn around, as well — Ahsoka doesn’t even look up. She feels it, though, the lurching in her stomach and the faint lightness that indicates that they’ve left realspace behind.

She’s glad she didn’t have to see the planet as they left. She doesn’t know what it was called; she never wants to return, if she can.

If she’s lucky, their victory will hold.

* * *

Ahsoka tries to sleep, because it’s late on the ship’s cycle and she needs to rest after two weeks of fighting, but every time she closes her eyes, she sees the results of the Separatist weapon that kept them busy for so long. A blast that soundlessly, instantly, knocked back rows of men, and the other Jedi general too. Bodies piled like so much garbage.

She can’t stand it. So she goes to the hangar.

It’s just past 0400 in the ship’s cycle, so she’s expecting a skeleton crew of workers and no one else. When she gets closer to the two Jedi starfighters, she realizes that she’s not alone, because — it’s Anakin. He’s under his starfighter, and R2 is beside him, handing him tools as he asks for them in a monotone.

She stops, at the end of the row of clone fighters, and watches him for a few moments. He’s deeply engaged in his work; he’s mumbling to himself, tapping his flesh fingers against the underbelly of the fighter as he works out what to do next. He seems… at peace.

When he finally notices her, he slides out from underneath and sits up with a smile that looks a little sad. “How long have you been there?”

“Not long.” She crosses the gap between clone fighter storage and Jedi fighter storage — she’s not sure why the Jedi’s things are always a bit to the side, but they always seem to be — and sits down on the floor beside him. The durasteel floor is cold and a bit uncomfortable, but Anakin’s presence seems to make it better; she focuses on the warmth he always seems to exude, the familiarity and comfort of his Force presence.

“Two days isn’t long enough,” she says, and she doesn’t have to add that the three days on the ship are not rest. It’s not restful to be around reminders of those she just saw die.

“No,” he says. “No, it’s not.” He stares into the distance blankly for a moment, and Ahsoka is almost concerned before he blinks and it’s over. “Hey. Want me to show you how to fix a dragging wing on a starfighter?”

Ahsoka can’t think of any reason she’d ever need to know that. But for some reason, at that moment, nothing sounds better. “Sure.”

Apparently, it’s a very simple procedure, if you know your stuff and have a handy astromech around to help. Anakin is patient and helpful, guiding Ahsoka through each step and explaining not only what they’re doing, but also why, and how it can be applied to fix other problems. 

It’s going 0500 when the starfighter is fixed, and Ahsoka’s vision is going a little blurry. She’s just thinking that she needs to actually sleep before morning when Anakin yawns. He needs sleep, too. She hadn’t asked why he was up, but she can guess that he didn’t get much more sleep than she did.

As if he’s read her mind, he slings an arm around her shoulders and says, “We should both get some rest, huh, Snips?”

“Yeah,” she says, and when she slides into her bed — still a bit cold, still just uncomfortable enough that she doesn’t feel coddled — she finds that the memories of the battle are a bit quieter. She hasn’t forgotten, but it’s easier to put them out of her mind, to think about the mechanical work instead. It was peaceful; it was almost like meditation.

Anakin has always said that he doesn’t like meditating. Ahsoka doesn’t think that’s true. He just does it differently.

She’s still thinking about the starfighter. She smiles, rolls over, and closes her eyes. In the distance, she can feel Anakin’s presence in the Force, warm and bright like a distant star. She holds it close to her heart, and falls asleep.


End file.
